Josh Renaud

Coming soon

I had intended to post some photos Yoli took Saturday of her cake and of her niece, but apparently I didn't copy them onto my thumbdrive like I thought I did. So I'll try and post those later tonight or tomorrow.

Also coming tomorrow, great photos from Cotoca.

Tonight we are headed to Tio Adonai's to video interview him about some family history stuff. After that we go to Leya's quinceanera party for her family.

Entertaining toddlers

Just a quick update to say that I have spent most of Friday and Saturday entertaining Ludi and Jadzia while Yoli prepares cakes for Leya's quinceañera.

We have passed the time playing lots of pretend, reading books, watching a couple Baby Einstein videos, playing Mr. Potato Head, doing jigsaw puzzles, cooking, sweeping, and getting the girls' clothes thoroughly dirty.

It has been very, very cool these two days. Long pants have been necessary. We didn't bring any jeans for Jadzia, so she wore her pajama pants.

Friday night we attended a chapel service at El Jordán which was very good, and Jadzia and Ludi went with the kids to their classes -- so, a brief respite for me! They did well in their classes and got to eat some cake (for someone else's birthday).

Saturday was much of the same, Yoli working on her cakes, etc. But as usual, Leya's party (which was supposed to start at 2 p.m.) ran very late. Her mom didn't get around to picking up Yoli and the cakes until around 5 p.m.

Right now I am here in a small, crowded internet cafe with one girl in my lap and another in the stroller. We went to three other cafes that were all full. It's been an interesting day. Hope all is well back home!

Family and food

We spent Wednesday morning visiting some family and letting the girls play. Yoli's sister Noemi, who hosted Jadzia's party a couple days ago, lives very close to Yoli's dad. So we decided to visit them both.

Here's a photo of Abi wearing her coat and hat and pretending to be cold. The irony is that later this day there was a giant rainstorm (with lots of hail), and Friday was somewhat chilly (upper 60s). Everyone I've seen on Friday was pretty much dressed like Abi is here.

Abi and Raquel wanted to show Jadzia one of their videos. It's a video with a song something like "Father Abraham" where you do a motion, and then the next time you sing a verse, you add another motion. By the time you finish you are doing all these crazy things like patting your head, spinning around, etc. Jadzia was able to catch on fairly well!

Don Hector's house is just down the street from Noemi's. Along the way we passed the big soccer field, where a couple of horses were hanging out. Keeping with the animal theme, I also threw in a photo of Don Hector's chickens. Jadzia got a kick out of seeing all the animals.

Yoli spent the afternoon working on her cakes. One of her big tasks on this trip is to decorate cakes for her niece Leya's quinceañera (15th birthday) this weekend. It's a big deal, and the preparations take a while.

This is similar to our trip last year where Yoli made a cake for her friend Corina's wedding. While she does that, I get to take care of the girls. Happily Jadzia and Ludi are in much better spirits than Jadzia was last year when she was miserable. But, we are running a bit low on things to do. Hopefully I won't be pulling my hair out by Saturday night.

Wednesday in photos 4: Sunset

Here are two photos of sunset I took looking down the street where Yoli's uncle Adonai lives. I'm just curious if anyone likes either of these, thinks they suck, or thinks one is better than the other. I'm especially interested in professional photographic opinions.

Wednesday in photos 3: Tio Adonai's house

Wednesday evening we visited Yoli's tio Adonai. He and his wife Miriam have three puppies, a cat, and a parrot. Jadzia and Ludi had a fun time, though Jadzia got too silly at the end of the visit and wouldn't speak Spanish very well.

Here's Yoli and Jadzia during the bus ride home

Wednesday in photos 2: The sloth

At the Santa Cruz Zoo you can get closer to the animals than perhaps you can at an American Zoo. The closest we got was to a sloth climbing a tree with its baby in the middle of the zoo, not in a cage.

That's a close-up of the baby the mama sloth is carrying as she climbs the trees and eats leaves.

Wednesday in photos 1: Zoo

Wednesday morning we took the girls to the Santa Cruz Zoo. What follows is a sort of photo essay of the morning.

Semi-bilingual birthday bash

This year Jadzia has enjoyed one of the longest periods of birthday celebration enjoyed by anyone outside of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. She had her first birthday party on Aug. 12, in conjunction with Yoli's and my dad's birthdays. Her actual birthday was Aug. 24, which we spent traveling to Bolivia. We had a party for her on Tuesday to which all her cousins and a few friends were invited.

Yoli had baked a three-dimensional bear cake on Monday. Yoli was somewhat disappointed because it didn't grow as much as she thought it would. Since the cake bakes upside down, that meant he didn't have much for legs. Instead the cake was like a bust of a bear. We brought the cake with us to Yoli's sister Noemi's house to decorate. It took Yoli a while, but the bear turned out well.

After a while, Jadzia's cousins began to arrive. They all greeted her nicely, but of course they couldn't really understand what she'd be like. And she was a bit shy. Jadzia can speak Spanish, but she's not used to interacting with children in Spanish -- pretty much only with her mom and sometimes her dad.

Something else I have known for a while but really saw Tuesday night was that Jadzia is not as physical as other kids. For example, two girls wanted to play jump rope with Jadzia. They were going to swing the rope and they wanted Jadzia to jump. I intervened and explained to them that Jadzia can't jump. Then, just to be silly, I told them that I could jump, and I began to hop up and down. Then Jadzia interjected "I can jump!" And she did this skip/gallop thing. When I heard her say that, I felt bad for having interrupted, because I didn't intend to make her look bad or to discourage her, though in fact that is probably what I did.

As more and more kids and parents arrived, and as the kids started to get a bit more wild, Jadzia got more and more shy. We gave her a princess crown, but it didn't really change her mood. Then, seeing her crown, Jadzia's cousins Abi and Raquel went to get a Barbie princess DVD they owned. We popped it in the player and soon almost all the kids gathered round to watch. I was surprised that even the boys were watching. But I guess the Tube is the one thing on the earth capable of causing all conflict to cease and uniting all mankind.

After a bit, Yoli explained there had been some miscommunication. We had expected that there would be food at the house, since we were bringing cake and desserts and goody bags, etc. But there was not. So Yoli's brothers-in-law, her dad, and I went out to get some hot dogs and buns.

When we got back, the guys went to cook the hot dogs and I resumed filming the madness. At this point a bunch of kids were crowding onto this little slide and slamming into each other, over and over. It was the world's worst perpetual slide traffic jam.

As all this was going on, Jadzia was sitting by herself on the swing next to the slide on the swing set. As the kids next to her got raucous, Jadzia decided to make herself heard. She began counting her numbers in Spanish, over and over, each time more loudly. It was quite a scene.

Once the hot dogs were ready, we passed them out. Jadzia's mood improved dramatically after eating a hot dog. Seems that much of her shyness was really just hunger. Unfortunately she also got mustard all over her beautiful blue dress.

Finally came the birthday songs and eating the cake. All the kids gathered round Jadzia and the cake table to sing "Cumpleaños feliz." It was really beautiful!

Jadzia even was given some presents, which I had not expected. But that made her day, because I suspect she was expecting gifts. The other nice thing is that now she has a few more books and a toy or two to play with her at the apartment while we stay in Bolivia. That is a very good thing.

By the end of the night, Jadzia had tried to use some Spanish with people. I think by the end of the trip, it won't be a problem. I have noticed her using it more and more. But she gets very shy each time we go to meet people or have an outing and it takes her a bit to warm up.

Year of the car

In the time since we last visited Bolivia, several of Yoli's family members have bought cars and started driving. This is of course a big deal for them. In fact, they offered to let me drive if I wanted, but I continue to be dead-set against driving here. Our friend Corina has been struck in two different accidents in just the past couple months, and the first one got her into trouble because she had no friendly witnesses who could back her up against the accusations of the driver who truly caused the accident. And in Bolivia, you essentially start out guilty until proven innocent.

Santa Cruz is not unlike other parts of the developing world such as India or China, which are seeing huge growth in personal automobile ownership. This is one reason the price of gas is going up everywhere.

That is, everywhere the price of gas is not subsidized by the government. Bolivia is such a place.

I am not an economist and don't have a full grasp of the situation. But for whatever reason, there are shortages of gasoline in Santa Cruz. Some blame it on the federal government under Evo Morales, who nationalized some of the petroleum companies. Others cite different reasons. Regardless, it's often hard to get gas when you need it, and there can be long lines at the stations. This, despite the fact that almost all of Bolivia's petroleum is extracted and refined in Santa Cruz.

It affected us somewhat today. My brother-in-law Boris was supposed to pick us up in his car and take us to the house of Yoli's sister, Noemi, for Jadzia's birthday party. At first he couldn't find gas, and called to tell us we would need to make other arrangements. But later in the afternoon, just as we were trying to make those arrangements, he showed up. He had been able to find some gas somewhere.

Later in the evening, my father-in-law arrived. When an opportunity arose (we needed to buy hot dogs and buns), he asked me to come with him and my two brothers-in-law in his car for the errand. He was obviously very proud of it, and showed off its fancy CD player. He boasted of the selection of music he had, and insisted that my brother-in-law Juan play it very loud. Juan was driving, because though my father-in-law recently bought this car, he still hasn't obtained a driver's license.

Mutualista

I have mentioned before how Jadzia is seeing Bolivia with new eyes. She is old enough now to appreciate some things about it. Though she may have been here and seen it all before, she doesn't really remember it.

One such thing is the market. Santa Cruz has many markets. There is one within walking distance of El Jordán called Mutualista.

Bolivia has a world of smells. As you walk the streets, you might be inundated by the odor of sparks and metal as you pass a block of small welding shops. Walking in an alley you might smell garbage in the elevated trash baskets at each house, or sometimes just from litter on the street.

But the markets, to me anyway, have even stronger smells. Undoubtedly this is because of all the foodstuffs available, as well as the trash produced. There are vendors selling tons of produce, butchers with chicken carcasses split open so you can see the insides and decide which one you want.

And, of course, right around the corner are all the folks selling party favors and candy. And that's why we went to the market. We needed a few cookies and trinkets to fill out the goody bags we planned to give out Tuesday evening at Jadzia's birthday party.

To me, the market is a labyrinth. The central part of it is essentially a grid, but once you are inside, it can become claustrophobic. Many stalls' inventory overflows out into the aisle or hangs out across the ceiling, whether it's underwear or bright multicolored boxes of cereal.

Since we were at the market anyway and we had no supplies to speak of back at El Jordán, we decided to buy some spaghetti, tomato sauce, ground beef, and broccoli. They ground the beef for us right there, which was interesting to see.

Jadzia doesn't have much to say about all this (yet anyway), but I can tell she is taking it all in as if it were a brand new experience.

Scenes early Tuesday

Trying to catch a nap. Bolivia can wear you out!

Play time at home.

More than any of us, Ludi gets really dirty, since she is sometimes crawling around on dusty floors.

Dust in the eyes? Must be winter

Technically it is wintertime here in Santa Cruz, though the season is winding down much the way summer is winding down in St. Louis.

It's a bit dusty with temperatures in the mid-80s. The breeze keeps it fairly cool. This is the first time I've been here at this time of year, and it certainly feels very comfortable outside. Not the sweltering humidity and occasional torrential rains like you get around January.

Jadzia and I slept in Monday, but Yoli and Ludi both woke up fairly early. We didn't really get going until about 11 a.m.

We are staying at El Jordán, which is a support center for girls who have lived on the streets. Yoli volunteered here when she was single, and we had our religious wedding ceremony on the upstairs patio here in November 2003. Our apartment this time is on the left side of the patio. The one we have stayed at twice before, on the right side of the patio, is now being used as a temporary leather workshop for boys. I went in there today looking for a three-prong electrical outlet and marvelled at the strong smell of cowhide and all the machines and tools. This is an exciting new ministry for El Jordán, which has long desired to offer learning opportunites for the husbands/boyfriends of the girls who come there.

Anyway, we got the girls and headed out to catch a bus. Let me tell you that taking a bus with two daughters instead of one is definitely a challenge. We found seats in the back of the bus. I enjoyed watching Jadzia experience things as if for the first time: the bumpy ride of the bus, the lurching as it swerved to the side of the street to pick up passengers, the noise of the traffic outside.

As we neared our destination, the bus passed many universities. Soon it was packed full of students. When it was time for us to stop, we had to maneuver our way through the crowd of passengers. I had Jadzia under one arm; a bag and a stroller under the other. I wonder if I'll get really good at this by the time we leave.

We walked the rest of the way to Yoli's sister Eliza's house. Eliza and her husband Boris had just renewed their wedding vows the day before.

Jadzia was disappointed to find none of her cousins at home. They were all at school. She was shy with her tia Eliza, tio Boris, and abuelita Lucy. She wasn't speaking, just waving (and sometimes waving with the hand whose thumb was planted in her mouth).

Eventually the kids came home. Jadzia was still somewhat shy, but her cousins weren't. They were very friendly. Melany, Rebeka, and Daniel all gave Jadzia kisses and started to play. Rebekita especially liked Jadzia. They are almost the same size, though Jadzia is taller (and a year younger).

While we were eating lunch (beef milanesa with rice), Yoli's sister Noemi arrived with her newest baby, Genesis (pronounced HEN-eh-sis). She was very cute, and looked a lot like Ludi. You can judge for yourself in the photos.

We stayed late, and it was past nap time for the girls. We took the bus home and put Jadzia to bed. Ludi wouldn't sleep at first. Since Yoli needed to go out and buy some ingredients for baking a cake, it fell to me to deal with Ludi. I eventually fell asleep with her on my chest, laying on the love seat. After I woke up, I had to come up with a way to get her into her playpen to continue sleeping. She cried when I put her down, so I gave her one of Yoli's shirts. That did the trick.

Yoli spent the afternoon and evening preparing cakes for Jadzia's birthday party, which will be Tuesday. After sunset I took the girls downstairs to play with some of the kids at El Jordán.

Jadzia took a bit to warm up to the kids. She was just kind of sitting on the ground clutching her doll. I was talking with some of the kids, some of whom I remembered from previous trips. Ludi had no problems walking all over the place, picking up leaves, carrying soccer balls, etc. Eventually Jadzia and I were kicking the soccer ball around with a little boy named Caléb. We also played with the two dogs who live at El Jordán, Lulu and Charlie.

After everyone went home, I took Jadzia to buy some lomito sandwiches from a restaurant that is literally around the corner. It's one of our favorite things to eat in Bolivia, though it probably wasn't a great choice on my part for Jadzia. She enjoyed watching them cook the meat and assemble the sandwiches.

19 hours of non-stop delight

Jadzia awoke at 4:15 a.m. and she wasn't bothered to be awake. She was very excited. "Today we're going to Bolivia!"

I tried to get her to scarf down a pancake before my dad showed up to take us to the airport. (Thanks, Dad!) Yoli and I were awake and surprisingly functional considering we had been awake until about 2 a.m.

We were anticipating a difficult day ahead, what with a long layover and a long flight. What would the girls do? Would they lose their minds?

Turns out, we had the most trouble where we least expected to have it: right at the beginning.

The American Airlines ticket agent at Lambert was not familiar with how to issue an infant ticket. We were stuck at the counter for what seemed like forever. I watched as the minutes trickled by on my watch, helpless to do anything to improve the situation (though I was tempted to hop the counter and take a stab at their ticketing computer myself). It didn't help when he asked a fellow agent "What time is it? I only have five minutes to get their luggage in or it will be too late."

After that it was on to the security line, my perennial least favorite experience of all time. We had a lot of carry-ons. Some for the kids, one with food, and some with items we couldn't afford to check and have lost. Plus we had the stroller. I think we had to push around eight of those plastic bins through the x-ray machine. And then the attendant asked me "Sir, can you tell me what these capsule-like things are in the bottom of your bag?" I had no idea what she was talking about. I guess she found the answer herself, because soon we made it through and were back to putting on our shoes and re-filling our bags.

It was a sprint to the gate, which wasn't too far away. We breezed onto the airplane (that's what happens when you're almost the last one on) and found that it wasn't very full. Score!

The flight to Miami was uneventful, but it was a milestone for Jadzia. She was old enough to really enjoy it, and since we were late she didn't have to spend 15-20 minutes waiting around in her seat for all the flight action to begin.

Arriving in Miami was what I dreaded the most. How would we kill five hours there with no play area? Would we give in and pay $75 for access to the Admiral's Club to escape MIA's teeming masses?

Actually things worked amazingly well. Our flight to Santa Cruz was going to depart from gate D42, the very same gate we arrived at from St. Louis.

A quick bit of scouting revealed that gate D30 was under construction. A big wide area of seats (and electrical outlets) with hardly a soul. It was perfect area for us to set up shop. Ludi and Jadzia played a bit with the blocks we brought. They also played with Jadzia's baby doll and the stroller. Ludi was constantly walking from the carpeted gate area out to the tiled main corridor where neverending hordes of travelers stampeded to their gates. I spent plenty of time corralling her. Anyway, gate D30 was a godsend.

Eventually we busted out the computer and a few DVDs. After that it was lunch time. We had promised Jadzia we would go to "a restaurant," but most of MIA's decent restaurants are outside the security zone.

During our five hours we made many, many circuits of the terminal. I took both Jadzia and Ludi at different times for more "scouting runs," seeking better eatery options.

Ultimately we decided not to drag our luggage all the way out there and go through the security process all over again. There was a "food court" farther down the D concourse with a seating area, which made it restauranty enough to satisfy our promise. We had three empanadas (beef, chicken, and ham and cheese), some banana chips, and a turkey sandwich on a wheat kaiser roll.

Our flight to Bolivia was not much of a problem either. Jadzia was really really good on both flights. Ludi was very antsy, but she wasn't screaming or crying. And thankfully the Santa Cruz flight was also pretty open, so we took up an entire row (six seats), which gave us plenty of elbow room.

Jadzia passed the time by doing "actividades" (activity books she got from her Nanny and Grandpa for her birthday), watching TV (but not really listening to it), and sleeping.

Unlike previous flights we have made to Bolivia, this one was nonstop to Santa Cruz. That was very nice, no wasted time in La Paz letting other people board.

We had no problems going through immigration. The girls entered as Bolivians thanks to their Bolivian consular birth certificates. My visa was in order, too, so it was all good.

It took a while to get all the luggage and make it through customs. After we did, we saw Yoli's sister Lucy and her dad Don Hector waiting for us. It was about 10:30 or 10:45 p.m. at that point. We took all our stuff to a compact SUV where we found Lucy's husband Juan, doing what I'd been looking forward to doing since I woke up at 4 in the morning: leaning back and snoring the night away.

Consolation

A week ago Yoli and I finally traveled to Houston to do business with the Bolivian consulate there. We arrived Monday and stayed overnight. Our appointment was for Tuesday morning. We stayed at the apartment of some friends who also have two children.

We had three pieces of business we wanted to accomplish:

• Get a new Bolivian passport for Yoli
• Get Bolivian consular birth certificates for Jadzia and Ludi
• Get a tourist visa for me

Well, most of you know how things go when you have kids. We got a later start than we should have. And the consulate turned out to be farther away timewise than I had imagined from our MapQuest printout. We ran late.

But to the consulate's credit, they didn't put up a fuss when we arrived. They took care of all of our business, and we left feeling happy that we had gotten everything we needed. This was definitely a better experience than when we were in Washington D.C. last year and were informed they had run out of passports.

My visa cost $100, but is good for five years. I still maintain that this visa program will ultimately hurt Bolivia and depress the tourist trade. But they seem to be processing these visas in a timely and organized fashion, so kudos to them for this.